Video clip of the water mixed with oil at Mill River (ca. 1991)
Description:
Video clip of the water mixed with oil at Mill River (ca. 1991). The entirety of the video shows the water in the lake contaminated by oil and garbage. There is a tarp between the contaminated water and the water that is still considered clean. The video is about 20 minutes long. The video starts with about 5 seconds of colored bars. This video does not seem to be a continuation of "Lake Massasoit A-2" despite the similar labels. The tape is listed as "Lake Massasoit A-3" and it is undated and comes from a series of 28 Betacam video tapes that is believed to be raw video that may have been used in the documentary "The Lost River: The story of the Mill River". In 1809, Lake Massasoit was formed by the army by damming the Mill River. The purpose of the dam was to ensure a constant flow of water downstream for the Springfield Armory “Watershops.” The Springfield Armory was America’s first and last National Armory, formed in 1777 and continuing production up until 1968. The formerly named Watershops Pond has 7 miles of shoreline and covers 186 acres. From 1892-1900, the buildings of Springfield College began to come about, and the name was changed to Lake Massasoit by Springfield College officials. The name came from a local hotel, the Massasoit House, owned by Marvin Chapin, a generous benefactor of the college. In 1920, the college purchased a large area of land on the upper end of the pond, and called it the “Freshman Camp.” Since the college was formed, students, faculty and visitors have used the Pond for sailing, swimming, ice skating and fishing. However, the lake was officially closed for swimming in 1984 when the lake was said to be unhealthy.
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